"You can't have a light without a dark to stick it in." — Arlo Guthrie

Friday, October 03, 2008

1776-2008: America as we knew her, may she rest in peace

Welcome to the New World (Dis)Order, and to the United Socialist States of America. Or is it still the same ol' place?

Just moments ago, Pres. George W. Bush signed into law the "Wall Street Bailout," shortly after the House approved the pork-laden "new" version of the bill they had rejected earlier this week.

Seven hundred billion dollars, a "really big number," in one dollar bills laid end to end, would stretch from the Earth to the Sun over 3,700 times (or 370 or 37,000 — knowledge of math doesn't seem to be a requirement anymore, especially in accounting). That's a lot of macaroni and cheese and tomato soup Main Streeters (and their children's children's children) will have to eat while the Wall Streeters renew their standing orders for caviar and champagne.

If you were against this bailout, how can you in good conscience now vote to elect either senator as U.S. president? Both Barack Obama and John McCain supported and voted for this bill that "gives away the farm" and our country.

Here is the list of U.S. representatives who voted yea and nay on Monday. It will be interesting to see who changed their votes today.

U.S. Representative Ron Paul warned against this financial meltdown many times. As you saw during the primaries, the mainstream media wouldn't let Dr. Paul express his views during the debates, and seldom wrote anything positive about him during his campaign.

Former U.S. Congressman Bob Barr is now the Libertarian Party nominee for president, and is being ignored by the press almost as much as Ron Paul was. If you don't like the direction our country is now heading — and as of today, it's heading in a direction we never thought possible — consider the only alternative we may have left. The bailout votes this week should have proven to the world that there really isn't a dime's worth of difference between the Republican Party and the Democratic Party.

Image: The U.S. flag flown upside down is a sign of distress, not of disrespect. Long may she wave.

21 comments:

Talk about over-dramatic. Inflation adjusted almost the same amount was spent during the 1987 recession. EVERY SINGLE YEAR, we spend more than that (1+ TRILLION across all levels of government) on economic development. Nothing has changed, except that populism in America and the need to over-dramatize has become more popular.

Thank you Widow's Son, the only choice America has is Bob Barr, the Libertarian candidate for president.

The simple fact of the matter is that today the rules officially changed. There is now a precedent that supports the government meddling in and gaining interest in private industry, essentially making Wall Street a government entity. There is no end in sight for the government's involvement in the economy. Even if a few hundred, or thousand, points were lost in the Dow, the disappearance of bad stock in bad mortgages would have been good in the long run. Now the country is just $700 billion deeper in debt and chances are that industry won't change its dangerous ways.

We have to stand up and elect a candidate that will reform government and downsize its involvement. We need a leader who will be a defender of the constitution and an advocate of true capitalism. McBama and the Fascist/Socialist parties do not embody any of those things.

Do the smart thing this November. Make your voice heard and vote for Bob Barr. Your grandchildren will thank you.

As much as I dislike the bail-out it does appear that it was necessary. The real crime is that the men and women responsible for this debacle will not be held accountable. Even so, this is not the end of the world as we know it, America has weathered other storms and will again in the future. The comment regarding Socialism was hardly accurate and betrays a lack of understanding of what social democracy is about. Many countries in Europe have had Socialist governments that accomplished much good for their citizens. The British Labour Party is a member of the Socialist International and Britain has been America's staunchest ally in the war on terror despite President Bush's misguided policies. What does the bail-out have to do with Socialism? The term "Socialist" has become a pejorative term to many and too frequently is used whenever the government takes any sort of action these days, even when such action is necessary.

As a post script, the newly installed Grand Master of the Grand Orient of France, MWB Pierre Lambicchi is a Socialist according to Chris Hodapp's Freemason's for Dummies blog. While anyone can disagree with the ideology of Socialism, to imply that it is something dispicable or on par with Soviet Style Communism is to disparage not only GM Lambicchi but the thousands of Socialist Freemasons in Europe that opposed Fascism prior to and during the second world war. Even today, there are many Masons in Europe that proudly claim the name "Socialist". These are brothers of integrity and honor.

I believe the men and women that knowingly engaged in financial transactions that they knew were unethical should be brought before the bar. I recently heard on one of the news programs that they have uncovered emails sent by lenders showing that they knew all hell was going to break loose and these individuals had the nerve to hope they would get out with their profits before the curtain came down on their shenanigans. As disgraceful as it is that our elected representatives did not do their job by properly regulating the financial industry, the actual criminals are the ones that need to be punished. Just like Enron, these people knew they were doing wrong. It is a sad commmentary on our society that so many are unwilling to admit when they have done wrong and face the music.

As another side note to those that want government to be virtually non-existent, Why blame the government for the financial crisis? If you don't want the government to do anything for you, why blame the government when crooks on Wall Street rip-off the American people? With laissez faire capitalism we can deregulate all business, can OSHA, no minimum wage laws or overtime laws, let them do whatever they want. When problems like this occur everyone wants to blame the government but they don't want the government to tell business how to operate or to regulate them. Doesn't make sense to me.

The Libertarians do represent a noble philosophy. Unfortunately, they continue to choose scum to run on their tickets. Bob Barr, a failed Ratardican, went to the LP to find an accepting home after his partisanship helped cost him his seat in a redrawn disctict. The man can't even hold a gun, much less represent the rights of gun ownership. He can't even answer a straightforward question--is he white or black? (Not that anyone should care.)

The bailout has already failed. The DJIA immediately dropped 160 points, and the rates on short-term Treasuries dropped. The only bullet the Fed and Treasury now have left is to drop the Fed Funds rate by 50-100 basis points. After that, we are on our own.

Creeping socialism is a response to fear. Fear of not being able to maintain a way of life or not being able to keep up with the Joneses. Today's society is cowardly, spoiled and rotten to the core, much like the corrupt parties--Democrap and Retardican--which represent them. Everybody wants an easy way to earn a buck, not a mentally or physically challenging job to stimulate their minds or bodies.

I fully agree with you on the bailout. I think that it's a disgrace. I can't for the life of me understand how the same people who scream about welfare could actually support it.

I believe that there needs to be a massive investigation of all of the execs who played a role in this mess; and if convicted, should be forced to forfeit every thing they own -- down to the last golf tee -- to pay down the debt that we, the taxpayers, will have to ante up because of their greed.

As for voting this year, I have to disagree with your choice. Bob Barr is anything but a libertarian. In fact, one of my disappointments with the Libertarian party is that they will grab anyone with a recognized name and put them on the ballot.

I've never had a lot of respect for Bob Barr, either, and the Libertarian Party has occasionally put up some off-the-wall candidates in the past... but, considering the McBama alternative, I'd take my chances the next four years with Barr at the helm rather than Obama or McCain, or of anyone who ran as a Republican or Democrat in the primaries, other than Ron Paul.

The point here is that FINALLY, perhaps, maybe, kinda sorta, Americans are beginning to realize that there are alternatives to the same ol' media-driven madness, same ol' politics as usual, same Demopublican bullshit we've endured for the past half-century.

A vote for Barr, or Ralph Nader, or even the Green Party's outlandish female candidate Cynthia McKinney, or even a write-in for Ron Paul, would at least send a signal to the rest of America that a significant number of us support neither of the paths chosen for us by the Democrats or the Republicans. As I said, there is no longer any major difference in the two major parties, and it's time the USA again became a real multi-party nation.

Indeed, the bail out bill signed by the gov represents a form of scocialism....i feel one is getting extreem by calling our government social fascism. What is true captitalism? And can it be the so called "people" that believe in captialism that are essentually the crux of our countries finacial problems today? We can't have "true captitalism" until we have honest caring people to drive such a system. I'm a fellow brother here, but Im telling you, its hard to really trust anyone anymore, esp the politicians and big busness, I mean all of them. May God bless and protect our country and may we stay strong.

the libertarian party is simpy NOT and issue this election. to think otherwise is nieve and frankly dangerous to this country.

i don't like mccain myself. sadly he is simply the other choice. barak WILL carry this election if the lib's take votes off of the gop this election cycle.

as a freedom loving american i'll take 4 years of status quo over 4 of a barak obama administration that finally puts the nail in the coffin of a free country.

this was a bad vote on all counts led by GW (who everyday i think the left had him properly pegged as an idiot) Mcain fell into that trap (although he isn't even close to republican or conservative on many issues)

voting for bar WILL put our troops and our national security at risk in iraq. Obama will promote a withdrawl and surrender iraq well before they are stable. this will foster MUCH more violence after we leave and WILL put iraq directly into the hands of iran.

brothers, please pull your heads from your collective asses and realise there is MUCH more at stake here this time. I detest the democrats and the gop doesn't hold much more for me either.

we simply CAN NOT allow an obama administration. your idealised vote is going to do irreperable harm to what is left of this country.

I wrote all of my Representatives and Senators asking them to reject the Bailout Bill and encouraging them to let the market self-correct. I also called for a Congressional Investigation to hold those responsible for causing the debacle. All voted "No" on the Bailout Bill.

My Senator even wrote me back adopting my same reasoning for rejecting the bailout bill.

thebeerslayer556,Michigan is a blue state, it has been for 20 years. To be frank, my vote doesn't count one bit. And even if it did, do you really think the Republicans are any better than the Democrats? If we send a message to Washington that we are sick of the bullshit and that we are ready to start looking elsewhere for real leadership, we might see progress. If nothing else, 5% of the votes means matching funds next time around. I think there is more hope in the third parties than there is in either of the two major parties...Just my two cents.Tony

Beerslayer comments:"as a freedom loving american i'll take 4 years of status quo over 4 of a barak obama administration that finally puts the nail in the coffin of a free country."

The status quo you refer to built the coffin, dug the grave, killed the body, raped the corpse and then threw it in the coffin, and your crying about who may nail the coffin shut?!

Mccain's hammer is just as big and precise as baraks..... Mccain has actually sent American to their coffins when in Vietnam! USS Forrestal, 132 Dead Sailors, And Countless Wounded......( http://judicial-inc.biz/82jjohn_mccain_and_the_uss_forresta.htm)

Talk about nailing american coffins closed! Surviving crewmen and those who investigated the Forrestal fire case reported that McCain deliberately 'wet-started' his A-4E Skyhawk to shake up the guy in the F-4 Phantom behind his plane.

thanks for letting me know the perils of the barak presidency....Slay a few more beers before you go out and vote, ok...

No matter who happens to win in November --we're all, well F'ed! Sorry but The United States Gov. has sold the American people out to the few who can make a quick buck selling cheap imported goods. We're all just drones buying what we are told....

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